Monday, March 4, 2019

Final Update: Yankees Salary Situation for the 2019 Season



We have done these types of posts multiple times this winter and throughout the spring, but this time may be the FINAL time this offseason that we take an in-depth look at the payroll. All the major contracts have been signed and all the players that are going to be extended likely have been by now, so let’s take a look at the Yankees payroll heading into the 2019 season.

Guaranteed 2019 Contracts (AAV in Parenthesis)



Giancarlo Stanton - $26 million ($25 million)

13-year deal worth $325 million with a full no-trade clause, an opt-out clause after the 2020 season, and a 2028 team option worth $25 million with a $10 million buyout. Stanton also receives $50,000 for each All-Star appearance, Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove Award. Stanton also receives $100,000 per MVP Award and $500,000 for each World Series MVP Award achieved throughout the contract. If Stanton does not opt-out after the 2020 season the Miami Marlins will retain $30 million in Stanton’s salary.



Masahiro Tanaka - $22 million ($22,142,857 million)

Seven-year deal worth $155 million with a full no-trade clause.



Jacoby Ellsbury - $21,142,857 million ($21,857,143 million)

Seven-year deal worth $153 million including a team option for the 2021 season worth $21 million and a $5 million buyout. Ellsbury also contains a full no-trade clause written into his contract.


Aroldis Chapman - $15 million plus $2.2 million signing bonus ($17.2 million)

Five-year deal worth $86 million including an $11 million signing bonus paid in equal increments ($2.2 million) annually throughout the length of the contract. Chapman has an opt-out clause after the 2019 season and a full no-trade clause through 2019. Chapman has a modified no-trade clause for 2020 and 2021 if he does not exercise his opt-our clause that keeps him from being traded to a West Coast team.


JA Happ - $17 million ($17 million)

Two-year deal worth $34 million including a vesting option for 2021 worth $17 million if Happ pitches 165 IP or makes 27 starts in 2020.


Zack Britton - $13 million ($13 million)

Three-year deal with an opt-out after two years if the fourth-year team option and player option is not picked up by the club after the second year. The contract could be anywhere from two-years and $26 million, three-years and $39 million if the fourth-year option is declined but Britton does not opt-out, to four-years and $53 million. Britton will also receive $1 million if he is traded any time throughout the contract.



DJ LeMahieu - $12 million ($12 million)

Two-year deal worth $24 million


Adam Ottavino - $9 million ($9 million)

Three-year deal worth $27 million including a $3 million signing bonus.


CC Sabathia - $8 million ($8 million)

One-year deal worth $8 million


Brett Gardner - $7.5 million ($7.5 million)

One-year deal worth $7.5 million




Troy Tulowitzki - $555K ($555K)

One-year deal worth $555K (remaining salary paid by the Toronto Blue Jays) with a full no-trade clause.



Aaron Hicks - $6 million ($10 million)

Seven-year deal worth $70 million with a $2 million signing bonus spread out in equal increments over the next seven seasons with a club option for the 2026 season worth $12.5 million and a $1 million buyout. Hicks also has a trade assignment bonus of $1 million if he is traded and does not have a no-trade clause written into his contract.



Luis Severino - $4 million ($10 million)

Four-year deal worth $40 million with a $2 million signing bonus and a club option for a fifth year worth $23 million with a $2.75 million buyout.



Total: $163,397,857 million ($173,255,000 million)

All salaries via Spotrac.com




Pre-Arbitration 2019 Salaries – Valued at $555K each (waiver options in parenthesis)

Albert Abreu (3)
Domingo Acevedo (3)
Chance Adams (3)
Miguel Andujar (2)
Luis Cessa
Thairo Estrada (3)
Clint Frazier
Domingo German
Chad Green
Joe Harvey
Ben Heller
Kyle Higashioka
Jonathan Holder (2)
Aaron Judge
Jonathan Loaisiga (3)
Jordan Montgomery
Gary Sanchez
Stephen Tarpley
Gleyber Torres (3)
Luke Voit (3)
Tyler Wade


Total: $11,655,000 million (21 players x $555K each)




Without waiver options for the Minor Leagues the players without a waiver option by their name cannot be sent down to Triple-A without first clearing waivers and cannot be sent down without their consent.

All courtesy of Spotrac.com








2019 Contracts for Arbitration-Eligible Players (MLBTR Projections in Parenthesis)

Dellin Betances (Arb 3) – $7.125 million ($6.4 million)
Greg Bird (Arb 1) – $1.2 million ($1.5 million)
Didi Gregorius (Arb 4) – $11.75 million ($12.4 million)
Tommy Kahnle (Arb 2) – $1,387,500 million ($1.5 million)
James Paxton (Arb 3) – $8.575 million ($9.0 million)
Austin Romine (Arb 3) – $1.8 million ($2.0 million)


Total: $31,837,500 ($32.8 million)



Retained Salaries per Spotrac


Brett Gardner – $2 million buyout of his 2019 team option

Alex Rodriguez – $4 million in deferred salary



Total: $6 million



The Final Tallies


2019 Total Yankees Salaries As of 1/12/19
$229,890,357 million





2019 Luxury Tax Threshold According to MLB.com
$206 million

According to Fangraphs and Spotrac you have to include an extra $17 million to your luxury tax to cover medical expenses, travel expenses, minor league contracts etc. according to the Collective Bargaining agreement. Either way, the Yankees are over the luxury tax threshold. 



For teams that are exceeding the luxury tax threshold for the first time, which the Yankees are after resetting their penalties by getting under the luxury tax threshold last season, the penalty for every dollar spent over the $206 million luxury tax threshold is a 20% penalty up to $20 million. To use even numbers, for every $10 million the Yankees go over the threshold the team must pay an extra $2 million to the league in penalties, obviously meaning $20 million would force the team to incur $4 million in penalties. If the team exceeds $20 million over the cap, but spends under $40 million over the luxury tax threshold, the penalty grows to 32% after a 12% surtax. Exceeding $40 million over the cap penalizes a team 62.5% (42.5% surtax on top of initial 20% tax) on every dollar as well as costing the team 10 places in the Rule 4 MLB Draft. The top six picks are protected, but a team with a 7th overall pick or later would see their highest selection in the MLB First Year Players Draft moved back 10 places. If your team falls in the top six of the MLB Draft, which the Yankees do not, they would see their second highest pick in the draft moved back by 10 places instead.



Estimated Yankees tax bill for 2019 - $3,678,500


#CHEAP

TGP Trivia and Fact of the Day for March 4th, 2019


Good morning Yankees family. Monday... yuck!

Babe Ruth won 10 home runs crowns as a member of the New York Yankees. The Sultan of Swat, right? But what player has the second most home run titles in club history?

Highlight below for your answer, but leave your guesses in the comments section below first!



Mickey Mantle, who has four. 



Even on a Monday morning I still love you so very much, my amazing wife Kari! And a very special good morning to my son, Jacob. You turn 15-years old today, and this is your day. Enjoy your day buddy, I love you!